Muchiri Gitonga
10 July 2009
Nairobi — Elections at the Elections at the Nyeri county council failed to take off on Friday after one of the candidates got a court order stopping the exercise.
Councillor Benson Gichohi of Rutune ward who was opposing the outgoing chairman Mr Wachira Keen obtained the temporary order restraining the council, the clerk or anybody else from conducting the polls until the case is heard.
The order under a certificate of urgency were given by Karatina Resident magistrate JM Omido who set the hearing for July 17. Tension was high at the council offices at Ruring'u as the two rival camps heckled each other before trooping into the chamber in readiness for the elections.
But even before they could sit down, the clerk informed them that the polls had been stopped and the enforcement officer, Mr Gakuu Mathenge, asked members of the public in the gallery to move out. Mr Keen and 26 other councillors, claimed that some MPs from the region are interfering with the council elections.
"The council will not be used by forces that are outside this council. Our brothers in parliament should stop being divisive agents," Mr Keen said.He claimed councillors had been subjected to a lot of pressure, intimidation and coercion to switch to other camps.
But Mr Gichohi's camp denied that they had given in to manipulations by a local MP and claimed it was their rivals who had been sponsored by a former MP. Mr Bernard Maina claimed the outgoing chairman had conspired with town clerk to set the date for the elections.
He also cited massive bribery among the councillors.
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